Broadway is Wicked is a blog aimed at fans of the smashing-hit show Wicked The Musical. In this site you will find all kind of news, videos, photos, interviews and other things related to Wicked –Broadway, National Tours, Australia Tour and West End- and other stuff related to Broadway and theatre in general.

Monthly Archives: September 2011

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Mosaic Legends has partnered with the hit musical Wicked to “go green” with the Wicked Mosaic Electronic Program Book, a digital alternative to the traditional paper format of its souvenir program, now available on iPhone and iPod touch through the App Store.

The first of its kind, the Wicked Mosaic features photography from all international productions of Wicked, as well as over 1,700 trivia facts, behind-the-scene details, production timelines and costume sketches.

ABOUT the Master Class: Cast members from the national tour of WICKED, playing at the Benedum Center, Pittsburgh, PA, September 7-October 2, will be teaching a musical theatre master class on Thursday, September 22, from 4:00-5:30 p.m. The class will include dance warm ups, scene work, and stylized movement combination, followed by a talk back with the master class instructors. Members of the media are invitedto attend the master class and take photographs. Interviews with the instructors and students may also be arranged. Please contact Lori Kolodziej from the Grand Theatre.

Dan Pacheco (Wicked – Boq) is excited and grateful to be on tour with Wicked! Regional favorites: Altar Boyz, Zanna Don’t!, Disney’s Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular, I Love a Piano, Disney’s Snow White, Four Guys Named José. TV: “117th Annual Rose Parade,” “Hard Times of RJ Berger.” Graduate of New York University; CAP21.

All proceeds from this master class will support the charity, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDSis one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised over $195 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States. BC/EFA is the major supporter of seven programs at The Actors Fund, including The HIV/AIDS Initiative, The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative, The Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic, The Actors Fund Work Program, The Dancers’ Resource, The Stage Managers’ Project and three supportive housing residences. BC/EFA also awards annual grants to more than 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.

Therefore, Louise Dearman (Glinda) Mark Evans (Fiyero) Zoe Rainey (Nessarose) Ben Stott (Boq) Clive Carter (The Wizard) and Julian Forsyth (Doctor Dillamond) will all play their final performances on Saturday December 10th. Tickets are still available onwww.ticketmaster.co.uk for what will no doubt be an emotional show

Meet the Newbies…

Our new Glinda, Gina Beck, is probably best known for playing Christine in Phantom of the Opera, although she made her West End debut as Cosette in Les Misérables at the Queens Theatre. She is currently appearing in The Belle’s Strategem at Southwark Playhouse until 1st October. She has also appeared in TV shows such as Doctors and Sherlock Holmes.

Matt Willis will probably be best known to younger readers for appearing in “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” but older readers will know him for being in the band Busted who had great pop songs like “Crashed the wedding”, “Year 3000” and “Thats what I go to school for” (You Tube them and give yourself a treat!) Matt attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School and has appeared in several West End Shows.

Wicked London fans will recognise the name of our “new” wizard, Desmond Barritt, as he has played the role before, leaving in May 2009 and
returning briefly later when Sam Kelly was ill.

Adam Pettigrew (Boq) attended the Brit School and has played a range of roles ranging from Oh, What a Lovely War, Slice Of Saturday Night, Peter Pan to the Avenue Q tour. He is 5 foot 6″ tall.

Lillie Flynn (Nessarose) has appeared in Love Story and War of the Worlds. She is also an encomplished voice over artist appearing in the hit movies ‘Alice In Wonderland’, ‘Mamma Mia’ and ‘Gnomeo and Juliet’. She is from an acting family and is a part of her brothers band ‘Johnny Flynn and The Sussex Wit’ they have released 2 albums and have toured the UK and Internationally.

Christopher Howell (Doctor Dillamond) is currently appearing in Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello Theatre. The show closes on 24th September.

The company has yet to announce which of the ensemble shall be staying and who shall be leaving. Watch this space…

A new Glinda and Fiyero are arriving to the West End production of Wicked. Gina Beck and Matt Willis will join the cast on Monday 12 December 2011 to star as Glinda and Fiyero respectively. Also, Desmond Barrit is returning to the show to play The Wizard.

Gina Beck comes straight from finishing a two-year season starring as ‘Christine Daaé’ in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera at London’s Her Majesty’s Theatre. Matt Willis (Fiyero) first shot to fame as a member of the chart-topping, BRIT award-winning band Busted. In 2006 he won the popular ITV show I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!. He most recently starred as ‘Chuck’ in the UK national tour of Footloose.

Wicked will welcome a new Glinda into the house. Tiffany Haas will take over that role beginning Sept. 27 at The Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, PA. She will join a cast that currently includes Anne Brummel as Elphaba, Jody Gelb as Madame Morrible and Don Amendolia as The Wizard.

In 2005 Haas made her Broadway debut in Wicked and spent two years as the Nessarose cover. Most recently she was the Glinda understudy for the second North American tour.

The 2011 edition of the annual Carols for a Cure album is now in the works. The cast of Wicked made their way into the studio last week for a recording produced by Rock-it Science Records and currently in it’s thirteenth year. This highly anticipated annual holiday release features casts from the current line-up of prestigious shows performing new and traditional holiday music. Broadway’s Carols for a Cure offers a “snapshot” of each season, as the casts and orchestras from each show on Broadway perform their own holiday track.